Overview
- Authorities on Jan. 2 reported 40 dead and 119 injured after a New Year’s Eve blaze at Le Constellation in Crans‑Montana.
- DNA testing is the main method to identify victims after clothing and other visual markers were destroyed, and the process is expected to take several days.
- Officials set up a parents’ centre to handle inquiries, though families say information has been cautious and at times inconsistent, prompting hospital searches on their own.
- Mother Laetitia Brodard is searching for her 16-year-old son Arthur, who texted her just after midnight; a friend from his table is being treated in a Zurich ICU with severe burns.
- Prosecutors said the blaze was likely ignited by sparklers placed in champagne bottles.